Feed roller



March 4, 1952 C, JOHNSTON 2.588,121

FEED ROLLER Filed Ap'riilz, 1947 '."l'l' '3F Patented Mar. 4, 1952 Cliiord J ohnston, Northville, Alberta, Canada.

Application April 12, 1947, Serial No. 741,121 In CanadaJanuaryv 1.8,y '1947 My invention is one to be used for the purpose of feeding material such as lumberto ma;- chines such as sawmills. Feed rollers of existing` types, as Well as those covered by this invention, may be used to feed an indefinite number of different materials to an indefinite number of different machines. The case of feeding lumber to saw-mills is used throughout this specification for the purpose of simplicity.

The usual method of feeding lumber to sawmills has been by a series of smooth cylindrical power-driven rollers which carry the lumber to the saw. Lumber which is intended to be milled is often stored in mill yards or other exposed places for considerable lengths of time during the winter months. This usually results in the formation of ice on the logs or boards to be milled. When a board coated with ice is passed over ordi nary feed rollers, the friction between the board and the roller is not sufcient to force the board into the mill. Under these circumstances most of the advantages of presently used feed rollers are lost and the operation must be carried on by the ineflcient and unsatisfactory process of feed- Y ing by hand.

To overcome this diiculty, I have designed feed rollers which are made up of a series of bars rather than a solid cylinder. Such rollers, not being smooth, will grip the log or board and tend to chip off the ice as the log or board passes over it. The ice thus removed falls down between the bars of the roller and may be disposed of without too much clogging of the machine.

To further improve the efficiency of these bars they may be made with the bars pointing into a single V-shape, the rollers being used in such a manner that the point of the V points in the direction of the rotation. This V-shape helps to increase the friction between the rollers and the icy board as the point of the V tends to dig into the board itself.

By the same reasoning, a series of more than one V will increase the eiiiciency of the rollers still further. For the sake of structural stability it is necessary that at each angle of the zigzag bar thus formed, a circular plate be placed. This in turn increases the problem of disposing of the ice and snow which is scraped off the icy boards or logs and which drops into the centre of the cylinder. This diiiculty is overcome by a series of bale plates attached at an angle of 45 degrees to the circular plates in such a direction that snow and ice falling on them always slides away from the mid-point of the roller eventually 2 claims. (c1. ies- 127) being forced out either end Athrough the openings ofthe circular end plates.

In the attached drawings, Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the rollers, Figure 2 a similar side eleviation with interior portions exposed, and Figure 3 an end view. In this example, sui'lcient intermediate circular plates are used to form a series of three Vs.

The shaft A, A can be of any size suitable for the machine with which the roller is used. The roller itself consists of two end plates B, B each having sections C, C removed, leaving two spokes D, D. In this example five additional plates Ei, E2, E3, E4, E5 are placed on the same shaft between the two end plates. These intermediate plates El. E2, E3, E4, E5, would probably, but not necessarily, lie at equal intervals between the end plates B, B.

Connecting the end plates B, B with their respectively adjacent intermediate plates, and the intermediate plates with each other, are a series of bars F, F, The method of attaching the bars F, F to the circular platesis not essential to this invention, but in the example shown they are morticed into the plates B, B and the intermediate plates El, E2, E3, E4, E5. The bars F, F form the cylinder of the roller. They are set at a slight angle to the axis of the roller, each section in an alternate direction so that each bar forms a series of three Vs pointing in the direction of rotation.

On either side of the middle intermediate plate E3 are two baie plates G3, G3. On the outer sides of the intermediate plates E2 and E4 are two baie plates G2, G2 placed at right angles to the baffle plates attached to the middle intermediate plate E3. On the outer sides of the intermediate plates El and E5 are two baille plates GI, GI at right angles to the baffle plates G2, G2 and opposite the baile plates G3, G3.

Figure 2 shows an end View of an end plate or an intermediate plate. The position of the baille plate is equivalent to the balile plate G2 on the intermediate circular plate E2. In every case the spokes of each end or intermediate circular plate are at right angles to the spokes of the immediately adjacent end or intermediate circular plate.

When the baille plates G3, G3 are in the bottom of their rotational-circuit, snow and ice falling into sections H3, H3 will drop on the baffle plates G3, G3 and be forced through the openings C in the intermediate plates E2 and E4 into the adjacent sections H2, H2.

The continuing rotation of the roller will bring the baille plates G2, G2 to the bottom of their rotational circuit and the snow and ice will now be forced through the openings C, C in the intermediate plates EI and E5 into the openings HI; Hl. A further one-quarter turn of the roller causes the snow to slide from baille plates GI, GI through the openings C, C of the end plates, thereby clearing the roller completely.

The feed rollers described in this specification may be of any rigid, durable material.

I am aware that feed rollers, as such, have been used prior to my invention to feed machines such as saw-mills. I therefore do not claim to.

cover all these; but I do claim:

1. A feed roller consisting of two open sectioned end plates, and more than one open sectioned intermediate plate spaced between the said end plates, such open plate sections being angularly offset about the axis of the feed roller, a series of peripherally spaced bars connecting the end plates with the intermediate plates, such bars having connecting portions set at an angle with respect to the said end plates and the said intermediate plates, such connecting portions between REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 170,335 Booth Nov. 23, 1875 2,232,623 Neuman Feb. 13, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 623,298 Germany Dec. 17, 1935 

